


Thanksgiving

by Seajellybaby



Series: The LA Series [9]
Category: As the World Turns
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:35:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22476478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seajellybaby/pseuds/Seajellybaby
Summary: The LA Series is my attempt to continue the Luke and Noah story from the finale onward.  I have tried to keep as true to the original show as possible.  I hope you enjoy it.As these stories are part of a series I have rated them all as mature - Just to be safe.Slight editing Sept2020
Relationships: Noah Mayer/Luke Snyder
Series: The LA Series [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1601257
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

“Ladies and gentlemen, we will shortly be commencing our decent, please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelt. If you haven’t already done so, please stow your carry-on luggage underneath the seat in front of you or in an overhead bin…”

Noah leaned around with his right hand to gently tickle Luke on his chin. Luke’s nose twitched. He lifted his hand to scratch the spot where Noah touched him, before sleepily lifting his head from Noah’s shoulder.

“We’re here…” Noah said.

“Mmm… that was quick...”

Noah smiled at how adorable he was. “That will be because you slept the whole flight!”

“Well, maybe I wouldn’t have been so tired if _somebody_ hadn’t kept me awake most of the night!”

Noah gave him a naughty smile, “I didn’t hear you complaining...”

Luke laughed, leaning over the armrest to kiss him.

They were returning to Oakdale together. The idea came to Luke after Noah brought up the Thanksgiving he spent with Maddie. Luke decided that the brief but unavoidable separation might be made more bearable, if he were to wait until the holiday to return to Oakdale. That way Noah could fly with him. Of course Noah would have to return alone to LA in four days, but they felt it might be easier for them to part this way. At least as easy as was possible under the circumstances.

***

Holden met them at the arrival gate. Luke tried to think whether he had ever seen a bigger grin on his father’s face. The man was positively glowing with happiness, as he grabbed hold of each of the boys and they shared a group hug.

“You look good!” he said, surveying them. “Much better than the last time I saw you, that’s for sure! You boys have no idea how much you scared your mother!”

Both Luke and Noah smiled internally, knowing that Holden always transferred his own true feelings and fears onto Lily. That way he could maintain his mucho, “I’m always calm and in control” demeanor.

They chatted amicably as Holden drove them in the pickup through the streets of Oakdale. Noah watched as the familiar and much loved landmarks past by the window. He really hadn’t expected to feel the overwhelming sense of nostalgia that engulfed him, but then he shouldn’t have been surprised… Oakdale was the place where his life changed forever, where he was handed a blessing in the form of the amazing person riding alongside him; hand squeezing Noah's knee…

Noah knew it was silly, but he felt a little nervous about seeing the Snyders after all this time. He wasn’t sure how they all felt about his reappearance in Luke’s life. He hurt Luke badly after all, and he could understand if some of them still harbored resentment toward him. Just as they started to drive the dirt road toward the farmhouse, Luke seemed to sense his fears; turning to face him and mouth, “I love you.”

Noah smiled; tightened the arm he held around Luke’s shoulder.

***

Emma was just returning from the chicken coup with a basket of eggs, when she saw the truck appear from between the line of trees. Her heart did a little leap of joy. Finally, her boys had arrived!

“Oh my. Oh my! Aren’t the two of you a sight for sore eyes?” She placed the basket on the back of the truck; brought both boys into her to share a warm hug. Pushing them away she scrutinized them carefully. “Let me get a good look at you! Especially _you_!” She turned to take hold of both of Noah’s shoulders. “Do you have any idea how much I’ve missed you?” She couldn’t help but pat his cheeks, before drawing the embarrassed but smiling boy back into her embrace.

"I missed you too, Emma," Noah responded, eyes sparkling wet in the sunshine. "Thanks for all the care packages you sent me."

She turned to Luke; tearing slightly and said, “When I think of how we almost lost you again!” Then looking from one to the other, “Both of you!”

“Those prayers you sent us must have been pretty powerful, Grandma!” Luke winked at her.

“Yes,” she replied. She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes; said, “Okay. Well, there are a lot of people up at the house dying to see the two of you, so let’s get a move on. I’ve still got a load of cooking to do, and you boys are just in time to cut the hubbard squash…”

***

After just a few minutes, Noah couldn’t think what he was so worried about. From the moment they entered the house they were received with nothing but hugs and kisses, full blown with love; the atmosphere festive, joyful and inviting. Most if not all of the Snyders expressed their delight that the two of them had found their way back to each other.

“Where they belong...” Lucinda announced loudly.

“Thank you so much for arranging the hospital room for us, Lucinda,” Noah said, after approaching her privately just before they sat for down for dinner. “I can’t tell you what it meant to have Luke there. I’m not sure we would have healed as fast otherwise.”

“It’s my very, very great pleasure, Noah.” She smiled and patted him fondly on the shoulder. “We are just so relieved that both of you managed to survive. It must have been terrible for you … truly terrible...”

***

As always, Emma had simply outdone herself. The turkey was deliciously golden bronze, juicy and tender looking; the vegetables on offer looked scrumptious and delectable. Noah couldn’t wait to get stuck into Emma’s amazing sweet potatoes, that positively steamed in the platter, surreptitiously placed right in front of him.

“I wonder who put those there?” Luke sarcastically whispered over to him. Noah simply smiled innocently with a “who me?” expression on his face.

After prayers, when it came to Noah’s turn to express what he was thankful for, he said, “I know you all expect me to say that I’m thankful to have Luke back in my life, and…” he turned to his right so he could look Luke in the eyes and speak directly to him, “I couldn’t even begin to express how thankful I am for that.” Noah turned back to look around the table. “But I’d also like to say that I’m so thankful for all of you. That you’ve accepted me back into your family after everything…” His voice dropped away.

A single tear fell down Luke’s cheek. Noah’s right hand was holding Luke’s, so he briefly released his left hand from Natalie’s so that he could reach up and catch the tear. Luke smiled gently at him.

“Noah, baby…” Lily said from the other side of the table, “you have always been a part of this family. That never changed. You will always be a Snyder in our eyes.” Her smile was so full of love that Noah had to catch his breath.

Seeing his expression, Faith stood up so that she could hug him; quickly joined by Natalie. He kissed both girls before they sat back down, Natalie taking hold of his hand once more.

***

“Shit!” exclaimed Luke, as he tried to warm his frozen feet under Noah’s reluctant legs. “Has Oakdale _always_ been this cold?” He pulled the comforter up to his ears.

Noah laughed. “Has somebody acclimatized a little too much to the sunshine?”

“Looks like it! Guess I’ll have to go back... What do you think?”

Noah pulled him in closer, cold feet and all; kissed the top of his head. “It couldn’t happen fast enough...”

“Can you believe how big the kids have gotten?”

“Right? Especially Ethan. He’s quite the little talker! Kind of reminds me of somebody I know…”

“Mm-Hmm? And who might that be?”

“I just can’t think… I’m sure it will come to me though...” Noah held his index finger on his mouth, taking on a contemplative stance.

They laughed together for a minute.

“Actually, it is unusually cold for this time of year. Grandma says the pond is already frozen over, can you believe that? God but I’m freezing!”

“I can think of a way to heat you up…”

“Oh yeah?” Luke asked expectantly.

Noah rolled right on top of him, placing both hands on the sides of Luke’s face; moving in for an exploitative kiss. The kiss was slow and lazy; just a knowledge they had no time limit, nowhere to be. 

They cuddled closer, remained quiet in each other's arms for a while; enjoyed the soft wind blowing through the leaves outside the window. Lying there like that, Luke said, “I almost called you, you know?”

“Hmm?”

“Last Thanksgiving… when you didn’t come…”

“You thought about me last Thanksgiving?” Noah was amazed.

“Yes... I thought about you, Noah. I thought about you every day last year, even when I didn’t want to… I guess my subconscious mind was trying to tell my stupid, stubborn conscious mind something.”

“I love you, Luke.”

“I love you too, Noah.”

With that, Noah kissed Luke with such a deep passion; Luke almost felt he would drown in it.

***

It was pitch black when Luke was shook awake by Noah bashing and kicking in his sleep.

“No, stop! Stop!” Noah trashed to the side; hair slicked back in sweat, despite the cold.

“Noah?” Luke reached out to hold Noah's shoulders; trying to gently coach him awake.

_Not again!_

The sheets were damp; Noah’s features contorted in terror. His entire body seemed to shiver uncontrollably. “Please, don’t! I don’t want to…” Just then he let out an agonizing scream. Just as suddenly, his eyes flew open, but it was as if he didn’t know where he was; he didn’t see Luke.

“Noah, wake up! Come on, baby, wake up!” Luke sat up against the headboard, fighting to move Noah’s body between his legs. He hugged Noah’s head into his chest, trying to sooth him by lightly stroking his hair. “Shh… Shh… Come back to me Noah… Noah baby… come back…” Slowly he felt as Noah’s awareness returned to the room; his breathing calming.

A few minutes passed like, that until Noah whispered, “Sorry…”

“It’s okay… There’s nothing to be sorry about. But, Noah, they seem to be getting worse.”

“I know. I don’t get it either… Consciously I feel like I’ve dealt with what happened. I mean I’m at peace with it. So… I just don’t know…”

Luke kissed the top of his head and whispered, “Don’t worry about it now… Just try to go back to sleep...”

As Noah drifted off, Luke couldn’t help but think, for the one hundredth time, that something about this wasn’t quite right.

***

“Hi, Reid. Happy Thanksgiving. I know… I know… you don’t do holidays et cetera, et cetera, but I still wanted to come and say it to you.” Luke sat down on the cold ground; stared out over the pond. The frozen water glittered in the winter sun. He picked a blade of dry grass; played with it in his hands as he spoke. “So… I guess you know by now that I’m back with Noah… I know in my heart that you are okay with it. I’m so in love with him, Reid, and being with him, especially now, after everything that’s happened, it feels so right. We’re so much more right for each other than we ever were before, and I think a lot of that is because of you. So, thank you… I guess… I wanted to say thank you. You taught me so much… You taught both of us so much.”

Feeling the icy wind on his face he wrapped his arms around his knees to keep warm. He sat listening to the early morning sounds of the farm, marveling at how much he loved the place. “And, Reid? I’m so sorry I forgot. But you must know that I didn’t forget _you_! I could never forget you… I think about you every day. It’s just, I wasn’t paying attention to the dates. I know you were never one for being sentimental, so I’m sure you forgave me the moment it happened, but I wanted to let you know that I do miss you… I love you so much."

Just then he heard the crunch of feet, and when he turned Noah was standing behind him.

“Hi, babe,” Luke smiled.

“Hey. Do you want some company or…” Noah pointed back behind him at the path he had just walked down.

“Come here…” Luke stretched out his left arm in invitation for Noah to sit down next to him.

As soon as Noah was seated, Luke drew his arm around him. Heads touching, they sat in silence, enjoying the warmth from each other’s bodies and the astounding view of the pond.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The LA Series is my attempt to continue the Luke and Noah story from the finale onward. I have tried to keep as true to the original show as possible. I hope you enjoy it. 
> 
> As these stories are part of a series I have rated them all as mature - Just to be safe

While Emma was distracted by various family members in the parlor, Luke and Noah snuck into her kitchen like two naughty teenagers; knowing full well she'd take issue with anybody else taking responsibility for food preparations.

“Okay…” Noah said walking into the storeroom under the stairs, “what do you need?”

“Grab one onion... a red one... um... mixed spice, cabbage… oh and cinnamon... the powder form... and red wine vinegar…” He listed the ingredients he needed while grabbing the bowls, spoons, pans etc from various places around the kitchen.

Noah placed all the essentials onto the island. “Done?”

“Yep, I think that’s it for now…”

Just then Emma decided to make her appearance. She stood stunned for a moment... hands on hips... before asking, “And just what do you boys think you are up to?”

Noah walked over; gently steered her back into the parlor. “You are going to relax this lunchtime, while Luke does the cooking…”

“Luke?” she protested with a nervous laugh, “No Noah, darling, I don’t think so! Luke doesn’t know a knife from a spoon!”

“He does now…” Stopping to look at her he said, “He really wants to do this for you. Just trust me… he’s wonderful at it! He’s been making all our meals in LA.” He gave her the biggest puppy dog look he could muster for good measure.

“Oh you! How am I supposed to say no to a face like that? All right then!”

“Great!” Noah kissed her cheek; returning to the kitchen to see what he could do to help.

“Charmer!” she chuckled to herself; wondered off in search of Janet to share this interesting new tit-bit of family information.

***

While Luke kept himself busy in the kitchen, Noah decided to take another walk down to the pond. He really missed this place, and he wanted to drink it all in, savor it; maybe take back some essence of it when he returned to LA. He sniffed in the farm smells; stood with his eyes closed, immersing himself in Oakdale air, until a loud scream pierced his quiet.

****

Noah had completely distracted Luke from his task. While chopping an onion his attention was utterly stolen by the sight of Noah’s statuesque figure standing still by the edge of the ice-covered pond.

_Is he even real?_

Butterflies traveled from Luke's toes to gather in his stomach. Noah was so beautiful… so breathtakingly beautiful…

He was suddenly ripped from his thoughts by the faint sound of a cry. He watched as Noah sprinted off behind the trees on his right.

_What the hell?_

Like a flash, Luke was running out the door, hurrying quickly after Noah.

***

His airplane is green. It has green circles on it. It’s an army plane. He knows because his soldiers are also green and so is his tank. He wishes he had his soldiers at the farm today, but they are at home in his elephant trunk. His elephant trunk is funny!

His tank has a big gun! His plane has guns too, but they are smaller ones. His plane is really cool and it actually _flies_! When he throws it, it can fly very far! Farther than anything else can go! Definitely! And when it flies it shoots at the bad gays, “Da, da, da, da, da! Da, da, da, da, da!” and then he has to run for ages to fetch it!

His airplane is the best present _ever_! Noah came yesterday and gave it to him. He likes Noah. Sometimes if he says “please” first, then Noah will swing him round and round. This makes him laugh and laugh, and then his tummy hurts. And Noah hugs and kisses him a lot too! So he knows Noah loves him like Luke does. He likes that Noah loves him… Noah is so cool!

Luke has been gone for a long time. And Noah has been gone for a long, long, long, long time! He doesn’t know where Noah went, but Luke said it was a place where they make movies. And that is the _coolest_! When Noah was gone, Luke was sad. So he's glad that Noah has come with Luke today. Luke is happy again. Luke said they could play a game later. Cool!

His plane has gone _very_ far this time! 

_Wow!_

But now Faith has started screaming!

_Why is she screaming like that?_

And then Natalie shouts, “Ethan!”

He can see Noah running down the hill; taking Faith by her shoulders.

_Why is Faith unhappy?_

Faith points at him, and Noah looks very scared.

There are no bears or monsters anywhere... That’s the only reason you should be scared like that, right? Anyway he needs to fetch his airplane, but before he can...

“Ethan stop!”

When he turns back to look at the shore, Noah is bent over slightly; has his arms out to him.

“Ethan, buddy, do you want play a game?”

Well yes, he always wants to play games, but he has to get his plane first.

“My airplane…” he says; points at it.

“Ethan, look at me buddy, okay? Don’t move!”

He feels very strange. He’s not sure what this feeling is called, but he just wants to fetch his plane and Noah is telling him not to move. So now he doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t think Noah is mad at him. Noah doesn’t look like his daddy does when he is mad. Noah just looks scared about something, and he looks like he wants to cry.

_Is Noah sad about something?_

“Ethan, if you keep very still and stay there, then I’ll buy you a hundred airplanes, kid, okay?”

Noah is being very funny and making him laugh. Noah is pretending to be a snake, like they do at school sometimes. He is wriggling closer and closer to him along the ground, and he wants to play too, so he laughs and he bounces down hard… But suddenly it’s very cold! Very, very, very, very cold! And he doesn’t like this. He doesn’t want to play this game anymore. Also he can’t move, so he’s dropping, and he’s drinking a lot of water. It’s dark and he can’t stop drinking the water. His head really hurts now. He feels like he’s going to blow up, like when Miss Barker at the pool tells him to blow bubbles for as long as he can under the water… Then eventually he can’t anymore, so he goes back up to the top. But this time he can’t get back up because his arms won’t work anymore.

_Why won’t my arms work?_

Suddenly his head is out of the water. He can hear people screaming, “Ethan! Ethan! Noah!”

But he’s cold. So cold... And he wants Mommy!

***

Luke arrived at the pond just in time to see Noah reach the hole in the ice. “Noah!”

“Oh my god, Luke! He fell in! Ethan fell in!” Faith was hysterical.

Just then Natalie arrived from the direction of the barn. She was carrying a large bundle of rope Luke assumed Noah must have instructed her to fetch. Hastily Luke snatched it from her; tied one end around his waist.

“Faith," Luke instructed, "run up to the house and get Dad and Uncle Jack… Now!” He handed the other end of the rope to Natalie and said, “Hold onto this and give it to Dad when he gets here…”

During this time he watched terrified as Noah dropped into the water, came up for air; disappeared under the ice once more. He tried to keep the fear from rising up; breathed back the panic. As he reached the edge of the hole, Ethan’s head emerged from under the water; Noah gripping the boy tightly under his armpits; lifting him up. Luke grabbed Ethan in the same place; pulled his baby brother out of the freezing water. He felt as Noah’s hands slipped away; disappeared back under the ice.

He laid Ethan down gently next to him; desperately plunged his face and arms into the hole; searched the blackness for Noah. He spotted a shadow; managed to grab Noah by his jacket just before he floated away. He pulled hard. Noah gasped; spluttered as has his head reached the surface. Luke pulled him up through the hole as much as he could, but eventually Noah panted, “I’m okay, I’m okay… take Ethan!”

It went against all of Luke’s natural instincts to leave Noah there in the icy water, but he knew Noah was right. “I’ll be right back, okay? Hold on… Just hold on!” He pressed a kiss to Noah’s panting and shaking head.

Rolling over, he lifted Ethan onto his stomach; held him there as Holden and Jack used the rope to pull them both safely over the ice. Jack grabbed Ethan from him; immediately started CPR, while Lily screamed in fear and panic, “Ethan! My, baby. Oh my god!”

But Luke didn’t hesitate; was quickly but cautiously making his way back over the ice toward Noah. He could tell that Noah was on his last reserve of energy, and every now and then the brunette would slip a little further back into the water, causing Luke’s heart to contract in panic.

 _“Hold on, hold on, hold on...”_

“Hey…” Luke said as he reached him.

“Hey, yourself…” Noah replied with a weak smile, his quivering lips an unhealthy purple color. “You look warm…”

Even in the desperateness of the situation, Luke couldn’t help but laugh out loud at that. “Want to join me?” he asked; trying to keep up the good humor in the hopes it would distract Noah from the immediate danger they were both in.

“Definitely!” he stuttered; his teeth chattered together.

“Okay, then… Just keep talking to me. All right, bubby?” Luke reached out to grab Noah tightly under his arms; pulled him around so that his back was against the side of the hole. He immediately sensed Noah’s relief at not having to hold on anymore; his entire body relaxing against the ice. “Noah?” There was no response and Luke suffered a major panic attack when he realized Noah must have passed out… “Please hold on… Not much longer now, okay?”

Using more strength than he ever knew he possessed, he pulled Noah up and out of the ice. Using the same tactic he had with Ethan, he rolled onto his back; pulled Noah on top of him; waited as his father and Jack pulled them both to safety. As they slid slowly toward the edge of the pond, Luke hugged Noah tightly into him; pressed their cheeks firmly together. “Stay with me…”

***

Noah opened his eyes to realize he was tucked in bed on the farm; the best place in the world to wake up in! And then he corrected himself... Maybe the second best place… just behind waking up anywhere with Luke. He felt Luke’s hand on his; looked down to see the back of Luke’s blonde head as he slept, slumped over the bed. Noah reached over with his free hand; ran his fingers through the blond locks. Luke shot up; leapt from the chair to sit on the bed and lean over so that he could kiss Noah all over his face in relief. “Oh my god! Oh my god!”

“Luke?” And then he remembered. “Ethan? Is he…”

“He’s fine! He’s fine, baby! Thanks to you. I was so worried!”

“How long have I been out for?”

“All day! It’s 10 PM.”

Just then the bedroom door opened and Lily entered carrying a tray with two cups of coffee. “Noah," she sighed, looking relieved, "you’re awake at last! We were starting to worry about you. The doctor said you would be fine, but he didn’t say you would sleep for so long.” After placing the tray on the bedside table, she leaned over to kiss him on the forehead. “How can I ever thank you?”

“Anybody would have done it,” Noah smiled. “I’m just glad he’s okay…”

Luke laughed then.

“What?”

“He’s more than okay! He’s ecstatic! He says you promised to buy him a hundred airplanes!”

***

Luke held Noah’s hand right up until it was his turn to walk through the airport security gate. Both of them had tears in their eyes, but they had made a promise not to break down. They were going to make this as easy on each other as possible.

“A few weeks and it will be Christmas…” Luke reminded him.

“Thank goodness for that.” And then, “What are you getting me?”

“Is that all you care about at a moment like this?” Luke chastised. “I never took you for the materialistic type Mayor!”

“Well, obviously there is yet a lot for us to learn about each other,” Noah smiled, “and I for one can’t wait to get started.”

Luke smiled at him as they kissed, “Same here…”


End file.
